Tuesday, November 26, 2013

And finally, The Desert Northwest...

A couple days before our Kitsap Peninsula adventure I got an email from the organizer, Peter (aka The Outlaw, but you probably already knew that), asking what time I needed to be back to Tacoma to meet up with Andrew. He'd hatched a plan and wondered how late was too late. Then he told me he'd emailed with Ian at The Desert Northwest, who just happened to be having an open nursery event that day in Sequim, just 45 minutes or so beyond our last stop, Far Reaches Farm. Ian was willing to stay open a little later and Peter proposed visiting. YES!

To say I was excited was an understatement. The highlight of the day just went from seeing Heronswood for the first time to visiting The Desert Northwest, and I am not exaggerating. In fact I was so excited to be there I took very few photographs. No pictures of the overall greenhouse set-up. No pictures of the sign, as I usually try to do. That's why I stole borrowed the DNW logo from their website to use at the top of this post. It just seemed wrong to launch right into the plant pictures without any sort of introductory photo. Hopefully Ian won't mind and do something crazy like ban me from ever purchasing plants from him again.

So enough chatter, let's get on with the visit! Here's Anna checking out some fabulous plant treasure. I hope she won't mind when I say watching her see these plants for the first time was great fun. I heard her exclaim "oh what's that!!?" several times.

Naturally there were agaves...

Some of my favorites even.

I'm thinking a puya? I emailed Ian to get specific names on a some things but forgot to ask a few, like this one.

Pseudopanax ferox crassifolius (thanks Ian, for the correction), I never tire of the colors.

Alison and Peter shopping in the background.

Banksia pilostylis...

I should give you a little background on The Desert Northwest, in case you're not familiar with them. From their website: "We are a specialty nursery located in Sequim, Washington, dedicated to the production and promotion of noteworthy water-wise plants! Here you can find a wide range of interesting and hard to find treasures, such as cold-hardy desert plants, plants from the Southern Hemisphere, Mediterranean plants, dryland native plants, and more. Founded in 2005, Our aim is to show Northwest gardeners how to make plant selections that require little or no summer water once established. We specialize in mail-order, as many of our plants also offer excellent performance, or potential, outside the Pacific Northwest! We propagate and produce all of our own stock here at our nursery in beautiful Clallam County, Washington, without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. We also offer seed of some plants."

There is also this: "Our web site is also intended as an informative resource for those who wish to learn how to grow various kinds of unusual plants, especially xeric plants and others adapted to our summer-dry climate. Please enjoy the photo galleries, blog, and plant articles on the site! We hope you learn something interesting while browsing through our pages, whether it be about rare plants, gardening, or our climate."...it's true! The amount of information available on the website is amazing.

Ficus afghanistanica 'Silver Lyre,' I don't think this one was for sale - I saw a tag from another nursery (one I frequent) in there. I'm glad I took a photo though, it's a beauty and one Andrew Keys introduced me to during his visit to Portland last summer.

Okay finally what did I buy? Well not as much as I would have liked to. The fact this trip was done in September not May had a dampening effect on my desire to purchase. Plus there was the budget, always the budget (and as you know if you've been following along I had been buying plants ALL DAY LONG!). So I picked up a Banksia blechnifolia, I bought one last spring but it sadly turned crispy when I (stupidly) left it in the hot sun while it was still in it's little 4" container (my excuse is I was stuck in jury duty). It's spending winter in the shade pavilion greenhouse.

My second purchase was a happy coincidence. Remember when I saw this Microcachrys tetragona earlier in the day at Celestial Dream Gardens but couldn't buy it because they didn't have any?

Well something possessed me to pull out the scrap of paper the name was written on and ask Ian if he had one. He did, sold! His description: "Microcachrys tetragona - STRAWBERRY PINE - From the windswept heaths of Tasmania's rugged highlands (I say that whenever I get a chance) comes this unique coniferous shrub that doesn't really look like anything else. It is thought to be a relict from a larger group of plants that was once widespread throughout the Southern Hemisphere. Making a low shrub to an eventual 2' tall and perhaps 3 - 4' wide, its fine, whipcord-like branches are a rich shade of deepest green. In the garden it tolerates sun or partial shade, and while it is easy to grow and moderately vigorous, I would not expect great drought tolerance since it comes from a region of high rainfall. The common name alludes to the female strobili which are bright red and resemble little berries."

So ends our day-long plant buying adventure. Judging by the car it was a very successful day...

But wait there's more. I shared the back seat with a few plant passangers...

This eucalyptus was particularly friendly.

We wrapped up the day with a lovely dinner before Laura, Charlie and Anna had to hit the road back to Portland. Peter, Allison and I just had to trek to Tacoma. If I recall it was about midnight when my head hit the pillow, a very long day having left Portland at 5:30 that morning, but oh so worth it!

I'm glad you enjoyed the day as I also had a blast! What could be better than visiting great nurseries with a group of plant addicts? I hope we can do something similar next summer after you've rested from the fling! Maybe early August? We are very lucky to have so many great nurseries in our region!

I'm bookmarking their site. Thanks for the link. It does, indeed, bulge with useful info. You of course made outstanding choices. What would your garden look like if you were cursed with unlimited funds? I shudder.

Looks like you'll have to visit again next year, and earlier in the year too if possible so you'll be in a better mood to buy plants. That Microcachrys looks like a type of heather more than a conifer, love it!

I agree about the Microcachrys, I couldn't believe it when I was told it was a conifer. Sadly this nursery is just beyond where it is easy for me to get to for frequent visits. Hence my excitement at getting to go there. Thankfully if Ian continues to be a part of the HPSO plant sale here in Portland he'll be bringing his cool plants to me! That's a nice arrangement.

That looks like such a wonderful trip!! I think my heart belongs at The Desert Northwest judging by your photos. I wonder if Ian ever brings up his goodies north of the 49th? I have some major banksia lust.

Yes in indeed Louis I think it does! I wonder what restrictions there are for nurseries to physically sell their plants across the border? Interesting thought. Probably involves a lot of governmental nightmares.

I am so looking forward to doing this nursery trip again next year, with Peter organizing. That day was the most fun I've had in a long time, although I did have to share Peter with all you Portlanders, when I'd been so used to having his company all to myself every weekend. Banksias do have the most interesting foliage. I have a feeling I'll end up having a few in my new greenhouse next winter.

Have really enjoyed reading about this whole shopping expedition. I usually read blogs on my phone around midnight and it just makes it hard to comment on non-Wordpress blogs, or I would have had more to say about it all. I love your stuffed full trunk. (I cannot imagine how many plants I'm going to buy now that we have a van!) The Microcachrys tetragona, which I have never heard of so I had to copy/paste the name, is stunning.